Corn

Corn
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I took this photo from the car - I should just walk down and take the shot, but I've been lazy. Planetofsound & Imp - thought you'd like to see a real life Farmville :)

Simian and I went to get some supplies, then we came home and we did a bit of weeding. I also did some searching through the Maryland statutes as I've been asked to help with another cat mediation case. Some of the laws are (1) ridiculous and others are (2) terribly drafted. There's a whole section of laws, since repealed called "Sabbath Laws". On Sundays, you still can't buy alcohol in a store in Baltimore - and you can't buy alcohol in a supermarket period. I wonder if they have to do with these so-called Sabbath laws too.

Sign

Sign
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Suntaneye didn't forget me - I got a present too!

Helicopter

Helicopter
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian and I had dinner with Suntaneye and her husby. This was the very cool belated birthday present which they got him. I've been playing with it too!

Deer

 

As I was about to leave the house this evening, I noticed the mother deer with her two babies. The babies have grown. They're still skittish but the mother deer seems to know me. She saw me watching, then went back to eating.

Narcolepsy

This was an amazing article - thanks D for sending it to me!

The stories that people shared were really interesting. It's a shame that it still seems to misunderstood and that diagnosis often comes so late in many peoples' lives. I can attest to the amazing difference the right meds can make in someone's life.

Humming stuck

Humming stuck
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Stressful evening because a hummingbird flew into the garage and got stuck. I have no idea how long she was in there, because I had left the garage door open as I was moving my drying rack in and out.

Hummings are beautiful but they are not the brightest bananas around. So the hummingbird kept flying straight for the ceiling and not coming down at all. Opening only the side door (which worked for the other bird that came in) didn't work. Putting the hummingbird feeder in the garage didn't help either - in fact another humming tried to come in and I had to shoo it away.

I called Simian asking where the ladder was and was told not to go climbing around the garage. I popped into the house to get something and saw the bird like this when I came back out. It's wing was somehow stuck. I ran to get my camera really to see if it was still breathing because it was so still (hence the lousy shot). I told Simian I thought it was dead. It stayed that way for 10 minutes but I thought I saw the beak move from time to time.

I went back in to get something else, and the bird somehow freed itself - so somehow they go into hibernation when they think they are in danger I think!

Of course it flew around some more bumping into the ceiling so I climbed up and hung the feeder up high. The humming immediately went to drink.

Simian got home and by this time it was getting dark. Once it got almost completely dark though, the humming shut down. She settled down and tried to sleep. At one point, I thought she might be dying - she was so still. Simian fashioned a box on a pole, and then after a lot of chasing around the garage, he got her onto it. He then moved her gently out and set her free. She immediately flew off.

It's a miracle the bread I made didn't burn either with all the running in and out. Simian, for his valor, ended up having to wait another half an hour for dinner because it wasn't ready :) Thank goodness the humming made it out safely.

Chocolate pudding pie

Chocolate tart
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

While my cake cover worked well at keeping out ants, apparently it was too airtight for one thing - humidity. As such, the mould got to it yesterday :( The raccoons and birds are enjoying mouldy cake today.

I made a chocolate pudding pie to cheer myself up - and it did taste good! I also made a ciambottola - but made it in a pan instead of a saute pan. My version was a little soup-ier. Simian didn't love this dish because of the use of the zucchini since he's not a big fan. He is however a big fan of not wasting food - so he was in agreement we have to use up the monster zucchini.

Heirloom tomato

Heirloom tomato
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I used to hate tomatoes as a kid. Now I'm trying to eat as many heirlooms as I can before the season ends. Seriously though, nothing beats a good heirloom for the flavour. I've tried a few different varieties and they literally burst with goodness in your mouth. You don't need to learn how to cook with tomatoes these good. Just cut them up and eat them!

Peppers and tomatoes

Peppers and tomatoes
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I went for a haircut today at a salon, run out of someone's home. She lives literally a five minute car ride away from where I live, and we had stopped by her yard sale on Sunday.

I was a bit apprehensive about getting my hair cut by someone other than my regular hairdresser. Simian also asked if I was really, truly, going to trust my hair to this lady. However, I've got very thick hair, which is usually good - but when it gets heavy, I shed like a dog.

So off I went this afternoon. One thing I really liked about this woman, she was fast. Also she had dogs running in and out of the salon, which is really one of the front rooms to her house :) I was in and out, AND back home in an hour. It also cost me all of $20, and to top it off, she sells produce too. She threw in some peppers because the tomatoes have to be used soon so all the stuff in the photo cost me $2. Yay!

Cake cover

Cake cover
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Take that ants! Now you can't get at my cake AND it doesn't need to go in the fridge.

Tomato Pie

Tomato Pie
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made this tomato pie today. I made the crust yesterday using a different recipe from the Little Big Vegetarian Book. Instead of Tabasco I used the chilli I brought from Singapore. Simian said it is the best pie he has ever had - so try out the recipe!

I was pleased with the crust though - will take a better photo of the crust tomorrow.

Latest issue of food porn arrived. Everything looks amazing and though I only had time to flip through - there are several recipes I've already bookmarked to try.

Fan and silica gel

Fan and silica gel
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian was very busy - he spent the whole afternoon patching up the driveway and then pressure washing the walkway and parts of the house.

We found today that there was mildew in the basement. ARGHHH. I had noticed that there were marks on the door and there seemed to be more late last week. It never occurred to me why it would be dusty in the basement - and not anywhere else.

When Simian remarked on it, I realised it must be getting serious. He thought it might be mildew.

It was.

It's been raining a lot, and apparently the salt in the basement which we use for the water softener (which had run out of salt - this explains why my hair has been getting so dry) was running very low. Simian spends time in the basement, but he likes it cool so he keeps the windows and doors closed. I rarely go down. All of this probably explains the mildew.

So I spent the afternoon cleaning up the doors. Simian came and helped with the moulding. We went to buy cat litter - the cheapest silica gel we could find, and hopefully that will absorb the smell. The room also got a through airing out.

Bread

Bread
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I also made bread and more spreader cookies. I made the dough for a pie I'm going to make for dinner tomorrow.

Upside down peach cake

Upside down peach cake
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Busy day today - I did manage to make an upside down peach cake from the Market Vegetarian cookbook which K got me a while ago. I tweaked the recipe - instead of beating the egg and sugar till they turned the colour of caramel (because that didn't seem quite right), I decided to melt the butter and sugar instead. It worked out just fine - cake is pretty good.

Dinner

 

We bought these samsosas freshly made at the Indian grocer near us. They cost 99 cents each and they tasted good! I made homemade baked beans from the Little Big Vegetarian Book for dinner.

Miss Shirley's

 

We went to Miss Shirley's for lunch today. G just celebrated passing a big, difficult exam and we went to celebrate with M and baby N. R and A were also there and I haven't seen them in ages. Lunch was pretty good, but the place was packed beyond belief. Simian and I had asparagus soup, a tower of veggie, fried green tomatoes and hash potato and onion. I couldn't quite bring myself to pay $10 for chocolate chip pancakes though they did look good when they arrived :) I love fried green tomatoes usually, but these tomatoes were a little tasteless. Simian says I'm just spoilt now because of the Farmer's Market tomatoes we've been having - the green tomatoes we had last night were superlative.

Vibrams

Vibrams
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

These finally, finally came. I got them for Simian for his birthday but the size we needed were back ordered. He wanted to take it for a walk around the neighbourhood (since he hurt his back) but the lightning started just then.

My new Addiction

Here's the new music video :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grCTXGW3sxQ

Bear in mind the show is actually nothing like this, but it is HILARIOUS. You can watch both seasons here if you haven't already seen this. Simian is watching it on his laptop as we speak :)

Just in time for Planetofsound turning me on to Farmville (THANKS for ruining my life!).

Pizza

 

Some of you might remember the giant zucchini my neighbour gave us? I hadn't used it yet - truth be told, the size of the thing was just frightening. It seemed too big to use at one go, unless I was going to make ratatouille or something!

In the end, I decided I didn't want to make something like a quiche or a pie because we still had peach pie for dessert. Plus it's been a long time since I made bread - so I decided to make a pizza. I meshed this recipe with a dough recipe from the Little Big vegetarian book. Then I added what veggies I had on hand (zucchini, potatos, brussel sprouts) and what herbs I wanted. Then I tossed on the mozarella and baked it. The smell wafting from the oven was pretty good! Plus I just love it when dough rises! :)

Pressure washer

Pressure washer
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian spent some time cleaning up the driveway this evening. I went out to help with some weeds, and then as we were packing up, we saw a little fox running across our yard. It ran off when we saw it, but came back to frolic in the grass some more. I told Simian that THIS must be what is causing some of his buckwheat to be flattened, not the raccoons! Simian said in that case, that's perfectly okay. Biased.

Clean driveway

Clean driveway
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

After the vinegar killed off the weeds, they needed to be pulled out. Simian used the pressure washer - and tada, all nice and clean. Of course we had to pull some out the good old-fashioned way as some of the asphalt started coming loose.

Bird stuck in garage

Bird stuck in garage
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian came home earlier today to pressure wash the driveway and when he opened the garage doors, this little bird flew in. The wren got more and more upset because he couldn't figure out how to get out. When he flew low enough, he would reach the garage doors (which fold upwards). Finally, I closed the garage doors and opened the side door out and he flew out to safety.

Honey Caramel Pie

 

You know how you see a recipe and you hear bells ringing and angels singing? You just know down in your heart of hearts, it's going to be good. Today this was the recipe for me - honey caramel peach pie and let me tell you, it is GOOD. I saw the recipe last week, started drooling and then went to pick up peaches at the farmer's market.

The crust is gorgeous - take note of the link, the recipe is a keeper! Simian said that it's the best pie I've ever made, and much better than our favourite Dangerously Delicious Pies. He exaggerates because those are some amazing pies but this IS a yummy pie if I say so myself.

The pie got off to a bad start - I was so excited to have gotten the opportunity to use M's pie bird. I must have done something wrong however because the bird started to sink, and then tilt. It was like the Titanic.

I quickly put in some vents for steam, and tried to right the bird. By this time, I had a crater. I was a bit distressed over this for a while. Then I realised : so the pie ain't pretty - but when it's in my tummy, who cares?

Baking

 

Simian and I went to buy a pressure washer today and then came home. Simian got her set up and started cleaning the steps. It was amazing!

I made a vegetable stew and more spreaders! I also realised zucchini flowers do NOT keep - mine became sad and wilt-y.

Spotting Scope

 

Lest you think I left with nothing, we got this awesome spotting scope - brand new! Plus it was $40 - which is a real steal. Simian bought it for me, and we spent some time this afternoon watching the birds. It brings them right up close!

Hamfest

 

I got the dates mixed up yesterday - so we got up early again to head for the Hamfest. Simian was literally jumping up and down because he had woken up 'late'. He had wanted to be there when they opened.

We still got there at 9:15 and spent two hours in the blazing sun - another reason we know Simian really, really loved it. He didn't complain but went from store to store.

Simian was also very careful to only buy what he really needed - they had all this equipment and it was going so cheaply. I told him that if it's $1, he should just buy it - but nooo :) So in the end, he did miss out on some buys because they were snapped up by the time we went back.

The place was part Comic Con, part Sim Lin Square. Plus the ratio of men to women was maybe 50:1 :) There were some very interesting people there, including the very stoned out looking guy who told us he worked with the CIA. There was the very friendly guy who yelled Howdy when we walked by - Simian bought stuff from him. The guy also was obviously there to buy stuff - he'd wander off from his truck to go see what else was for sale. Then there was the man who used to have a fish (a piranha) that he said was very sweet. The fish moved across the country with him five times - and when the fish went blind at 17, he fed it raw steak because it couldn't see to catch prey. It lived for another three years till it died.

We got an old projector screen for $1!

Heirloom Tomato Festival

 

Simian and I went to the Heirloom Tomato Festival today and the Farmers' Market. The festival is always fun - we went last year too. People let you try their tomatoes and also they make them into pies, gazpacho, and all kinds of other food for you to try. There are tons of gardeners there - and one of them came up to tell us that if we liked any particular tomato, we can take one home, dry the seeds and plant it!

I also got zucchini flowers.

We also stopped by a flea market, and we did some gardening and weed pulling again :)

Driving

Headed down to ACA again today. On the way there, at a stop light, when my car was at a complete halt, the car behind me bumped into me. Fortunately it was a light jolt, but I don't think the guy even noticed he had hit me!

The meeting today was very informative. The only good thing about the long drive? I get to listen to a LOT of NPR which I love.

Baking

 

Today was house cleaning day, then I baked and made dinner. I made a squash and mushroom quiche from the Little Big Vegetarian cookbook that Mom got me. The crust was MUCH better than the last recipe I used. Then I made these Spreaders - the crust was super short. Delicious. I didn't have ramkins so used the square baking tray to make fudge and it tasted far better than it looks in the photo.

Hummingbird at feeder

Hummingbird fighting
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

One of these days I'll be able to catch the very amusing sight of hummingbirds fighting over the feeder - because you know, there aren't four ports available :)

Cauliflower with cheese

Cauliflower with cheese
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I made the purple cauliflower for dinner. Being from the Farmer's Market, there were indeed aphids on them - nothing boiling the cauliflower for a while in water wouldn't cure. The water turned a funky shade of blue :) I added potatoes to this recipe for cauliflower and cheese.

Goldfinches galore

Goldfinches galore
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

It rained when I got home - much needed to cool down the place. Here are the finches on a sock.

Perfect trio

Perfect trio
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

How adorable are these three? I went to ACA today - the drive there was an hour. The drive back an hour an a half - DC traffic is brutal.

Smart Bacon

Smart Bacon
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

You're probably wondering - BACON? I got Smart Bacon on a recommendation. It was pretty good.

Tomato, egg and bacon sandwich

Tomato, egg and bacon sandwich
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Simian teased me and said that I had made a good old, traditional Singaporean meal for National Day. Here's our attempt to show good US-Singapore ties :)

I used this fantastic Gourmet recipe, but swapped out the hard boiled eggs for this egg salad recipe. I didn't have the fresh herbs, or the celery but it still tasted fantastic. It was really, really good - try it.

Coincidentally, I told Simian this morning that Singaporeans were supposed to recite the pledge at 8 pm Singapore time. Turns out that it was at 8:22 and we were goofing around and actually did it at the right time :)

Baking

 

Simian went to work, and I decided it had been a while since I baked. Of course I had to pick the hottest day this summer to do it. I made chocolate cookies and more blueberry streusel as I had blueberries in the fridge. The cookies were much moister this time around - baked them for a shorter time. The streusel was as good as the last batch.

Effects of vinegar on weeds

 

There is grass growing in the cracks, and it's messing up the driveway. We need to seal it, but first we need to kill the grass. Simian has been pulling out the grass but we decided to try vinegar.

Today, I sprayed vinegar on the grass - note the grass on the left before I sprayed the vinegar. A few hours later, the weeds are dead. Yay :)

Hummingbird at feeder

Hummingbird at feeder
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

I wondered why the feeder in the front always seems to take so much longer to run out of nectar then the back feeder. Now I am pretty sure it's because one of the hummingbirds has decided that because it's his feeder, he won't let anyone else through. He sits on the tree and guards it. Should anyone else even come near, he swoops down and drives them off.

I sat outside on the bench today and the birds started coming back. Managed to get this closeup of a hummingbird at the feeder.

Boots

Boots
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Oh yes, I am the height of fashion! I have work boots. Gardening was not working out with the sandals and then when I got in, I'd track grass on the floor to my own chagrin. I considered Muck Boots that my neighbour A has, but I think I might still get grass all over.

The boots got a workout today when we went out and weeded.

Peaches

Peaches
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

There was a Peach Festival at the Agriculture Centre today. When we went down, it seemed like the usual Farmer's Market, and there weren't even that many peaches. We did however get some peaches from the Baugher's stall. They also sold homemade peach ice cream with peach slices except the line was too long.

The peaches however were perfection. Simian and I shared a giant peach after dinner and it was so sweet and juicy.

Next week - Heirloom Tomato Festival!

Thistle!

Thistle!
Originally uploaded by ariel1511976

Poking their evil little heads out of the brush.